Selective haematological cancer eradication with preserved haematopoiesis.

Haematopoietic stem cell (HSC) transplantation (HSCT) is the only curative treatment for a broad range of haematological malignancies, but the standard of care relies on untargeted chemotherapies and limited possibilities to treat malignant cells after HSCT without affecting the transplanted healthy cells1. Antigen-specific cell-depleting therapies hold the promise of much more targeted elimination of diseased cells, as witnessed in the past decade by the revolution of clinical practice for B cell malignancies2. However, target selection is complex and limited to antigens expressed on subsets of haematopoietic cells, resulting in a fragmented therapy landscape with high development costs2-5. Here we demonstrate that an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) targeting the pan-haematopoietic marker CD45 enables the antigen-specific depletion of the entire haematopoietic system, including HSCs. Pairing this ADC with the transplantation of human HSCs engineered to be shielded from the CD45-targeting ADC enables the selective eradication of leukaemic cells with preserved haematopoiesis. The combination of CD45-targeting ADCs and engineered HSCs creates an almost universal strategy to replace a diseased haematopoietic system, irrespective of disease aetiology or originating cell type. We propose that this approach could have broad implications beyond haematological malignancies.

Characterization of a bafinivirus exoribonuclease activity.

White bream virus (WBV), a poorly characterized plus-strand RNA virus infecting freshwater fish of the Cyprinidae family, is the prototype species of the genus Bafinivirus in the subfamily Torovirinae (family Coronaviridae, order Nidovirales). In common with other nidoviruses featuring >20 kilobase genomes, bafiniviruses have been predicted to encode an exoribonuclease (ExoN) in their replicase gene. Here, we used information on the substrate specificity of bafinivirus 3C-like proteases to express WBV ExoN in an active form in Escherichia coli. The 374-residue protein displayed robust 3'-to-5' exoribonuclease activity in the presence of Mg2+ ions and, unlike its coronavirus homologues, did not require a protein cofactor for activity. Characterization of mutant forms of ExoN provided support for predictions on putative active-site and conserved zinc-binding residues. WBV ExoN was revealed to be most active on double-stranded RNA substrates containing one or two non-paired 3'-terminal nucleotides, supporting its presumed role in increasing the fidelity of the bafinivirus RNA-dependent RNA polymerase.

STK40 Is a Pseudokinase that Binds the E3 Ubiquitin Ligase COP1.

Serine/threonine kinase 40 (STK40) was originally identified as a distant homolog of Tribbles-family proteins. Despite accumulating data attesting to the importance of STK40 in a variety of different physiologic processes, little is known about its biological activity or mechanism of action. Here, we show that STK40 interacts with Constitutive Photomorphogenic Protein 1 (COP1), relying primarily on a C-terminal sequence analogous to the motif found in Tribbles proteins. In order to further elucidate structure-function relationships in STK40, we determined the crystal structure of the STK40 kinase homology domain at 2.5 Å resolution. The structure, together with ATP-binding assay results, show that STK40 is a pseudokinase, in which substitutions of conserved residues within the kinase domain prevent ATP binding. Although the structure of the kinase homology domain diverges from the analogous region of Trib1, the results reported here suggest functional parallels between STK40 and Tribbles-family proteins as COP1 adaptors.

Structural and Functional Consequences of Three Cancer-Associated Mutations of the Oncogenic Phosphatase SHP2.

The proto-oncogene PTPN11 encodes a cytoplasmic protein tyrosine phosphatase, SHP2, which is required for normal development and sustained activation of the Ras-MAPK signaling pathway. Germline mutations in SHP2 cause developmental disorders, and somatic mutations have been identified in childhood and adult cancers and drive leukemia in mice. Despite our knowledge of the PTPN11 variations associated with pathology, the structural and functional consequences of many disease-associated mutants remain poorly understood. Here, we combine X-ray crystallography, small-angle X-ray scattering, and biochemistry to elucidate structural and mechanistic features of three cancer-associated SHP2 variants harboring single point mutations within the N-SH2:PTP interdomain autoinhibitory interface. Our findings directly compare the impact of each mutation on autoinhibition of the phosphatase and advance the development of structure-guided and mutation-specific SHP2 therapies.

Structural Basis for Substrate Selectivity of the E3 Ligase COP1.

COP1 proteins are E3 ubiquitin ligases that regulate phototropism in plants and target transcription factors for degradation in mammals. The substrate-binding region of COP1 resides within a WD40-repeat domain that also binds to Trib proteins, which are adaptors for C/EBPα degradation. Here we report structures of the human COP1 WD40 domain in isolation, and complexes of the human and Arabidopsis thaliana COP1 WD40 domains with the binding motif of Trib1. The human and Arabidopsis WD40 domains are seven-bladed ß propellers with an inserted loop on the bottom face of the first blade. The Trib1 peptide binds in an extended conformation to a highly conserved surface on the top face of the ß propeller, indicating a general mode for recognition of peptide motifs by COP1. Together, these studies identify the structural basis and key interactions for motif recognition by COP1, and hint at how Trib1 autoinhibition is overcome to target C/EBPα for degradation.